There is an ongoing need to reduce the chip size of integrated circuits (ICs). Among other things, this is because the cost of manufacture is generally dependent on the chip area, the larger the chip area, the higher the cost. A further consideration is the very small size of modern electronic apparatus, especially portable electronic devices implemented using ICs. Often, such ICs must not only have minimum area but also minimum thickness in order to fit within the very thin cases desired for such portable electronic devices. Thus, minimizing both IC thickness and IC area are important goals.
Many applications of ICs require that passive components (e.g., resistors, capacitors, inductors, filters, transmission lines interconnects, and combinations thereof, etc.) be included within the ICs as well as active components such as transistors and diodes of various kinds. In some cases the passive components (e.g., diffused resistors, etc.) can be built using semiconductor material of the IC itself and in other cases it is necessary to build such passive devices (e.g., capacitors, resistors, inductors, filters, transmission lines, interconnects, and combinations thereof, etc.) on or above the surface of the semiconductor in which the IC is formed. When built in or on the same semiconductor substrate in which the IC is formed, these passive devices are referred to as “integrated passive devices,” abbreviated as “IPDs”. In these circumstances the passive devices are an integral part of the IC chip and are generally formed on the IC while it is still in wafer form and before being singulated (i.e., cut from the wafer into individual ICs). Thus, the IPDs are already present on the IC when the IC chip is, for example, mounted on a module, motherboard or tape and combined with other devices and components. In some applications, especially high frequency and/or high power circuits, these IPDs can become large compared to the semiconductor devices of the IC and may become a significant or dominant factor in determining the size (i.e., area and thickness) and functionality of the IC chip. Accordingly, there is an ongoing need for improved techniques for providing space efficient ICs, especially ICs incorporating integrated passive devices (IPDs). Also, it is desirable that the improved IC's containing such IPDs be compatible with existing IC manufacturing techniques. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.